Bella Vista Proud

2018

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One business in Bella Vista is there to fulfill all your "birdscaping" needs. The Bluebird Shed on Lan- cashire is all about birds. "Birdscaping," according to the store's website, www. thebluebirdshed.com, "is the concept of adding fea- tures to your home and yard to transform them into a wild bird wonderland." Owner Butch Tetzlaff knows a lot about birds and is willing to share. People of - ten bring him questions and photos and he does his best to help. He's a bird watcher and helps with the Hobbs State Park Birds and Break- fast Program each spring. Like all living things, birds need food, water and shelter and The Bluebird Shed can help with all three. There are bird houses and bird baths as well as bird feeders — even some that claim to be squirrel-proof. There are different foods available for different types of birds. Many of his prod - ucts change seasonally. Then there's the decor, for both inside and out with all kinds of birds represented on pot holders, coasters, coffee cups, stepping stones and lights. He has bird field-guides and other books for bird lovers. Tetzlaff is now selling handmade bluebird houses for the Bella Vista Bluebird Society, an all volunteer group that's been helping to protect Bluebirds for 40 years. He can arrange installation by contacting volunteers with the society. Uniquely Bella Vista 6C F Wednesday, June 27, 2018 The Weekly Vista 430 Town Center Bella Vista, AR (479) 855-1111 www.vacationrentalsinc.net Trail's Edge Cabins Everything a Bike Enthusiast Needs Stay in the newly constructed cabins with all the amenities you need, right on the biking and walking trails! Beautiful sceneries of wooded hills, rocky bluff s, and lake view sunsets. Perfect for couples looking to escape and families looking for adventure! ese state of the art cabins were built with bicyclists in mind. ey off er secure bike storage, special mud rooms with slat walls for all your biking gear, and modern home fi nishes that make your stay comfortable. Each unit sleeps 4 - 6 people and off ers 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Located On Bella Vista's Back 40! Trail's Edge Cabins off er the perfect, convenient and adventurous retreat to the great outdoors! 1 Highlands Crossing Drive • Bella Vista, Arkansas 72715 (479)-876-1877 Saturday July 14, 2018 10-11 AM SENIOR INDEPENDENT LIVING The Plaza Lynn will be sharing her professional insights and tips to help you to move forward and get your house in order so you can enjoy your golden years. FREE SEMINAR Overwhelmed at the thought of downsizing your home? We Can Help! The Plaza welcomes Lynn Reding of Organizing With Lynn. Your source for the news that matters most to you. SUBSCRIBE ONLINE: www.nwadg.com/1wv OR CALL: 800-482-1121 MON-FRI 8:30AM-5:30PM $ 49 a year! Only Unique Businesses Lynn Atkins/The Weekly Vista Mark Spychala works on his grinder at Rocky's Cobbler Shop in Old Bella Vista. He's a third-generation cobbler. Cobbler is part of Old Bella Vista Lynn Atkins latkins@nwadg.com Rocky's Cobbler Shop was originally in Sauk Rap- ids, Minn., but three years ago, a third-generation cobbler moved the shop to Bella Vista. Owner Mark Spychala started in the shoe repair business when he was 12 years old, working beside his father, Rocky Spychala. But in the early 2000s Mark and his wife, Muriel, "ran away from home." He had also been work - ing as a scuba teacher and owned a scuba store next door to the first Rocky's Cobbler Shop where he also worked. When he de- cided to devote all his time to scuba, he and his wife moved to the Caribbean. When they took a vaca- tion, they traveled back to Minnesota where Mark's parents were or Bella Vista where Muriel's parents had moved. After 11 years, they were ready to return to the states and they chose Bella Vista, attracted by the four sea - sons and the less severe winters. A Minnesota friend who visited the Spychala's new home made him a pair of small snow shoes for the "small" winters in Arkansas. The shop overlooking Highway 71 on Suits Us Drive has a view of Lake Bella Vista and the Bella Vista sign. It also has a very steep driveway that almost every customer comments on, Spychala said. Most of his equipment came from Minnesota and the first Rocky's Cobbler Shop. He repairs shoes, purses, suitcases and even some clothing. He can put a zip - per in or simply replace the zipper slide. "We don't say 'no' very of- ten," he said. Sometimes he might suggest that a repair isn't worth it on an inex- pensive shoe, but as often as not the customer tells him to go ahead because they are a favorite pair. After three years in busi- ness, only a handful of items haven't been picked up, he said. He sells shoe care prod- ucts: polish, cleaners, and laces; as well as foot care products: insoles, bunion pads, corn pads and ankle supports. He even has a line of shoes in his limited retail space. The shop stays busy and that's partly because the older Bella Vista residents are used to repairing things rather than throwing them out. He has many repeat customers. Even with the steep drive, Spychala has no plans to ever move his shop again. Rocky's Cobbler Shop is now a part of Old Bella Vista and it will remain there. Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista A freshly-cut loaf of soap at the Carriage Trade waits to be packaged. Soapmaker sets up shop in Bella Vista keith BryAnt kbryant@nwadg.com A wall of thick, varied scents hits the nose as soon as one walks into the compact shop off Oldham Drive. The Carriage Trade is a mostly one-person effort that sells a variety of soaps handmade right here in Bella Vista. Michelle Chiocco has been in business since 2014 and in her current location since 2015, making and packing soaps in a work - shop and selling them in an adjoining space at 160 Oldham Drive. "I do everything in small batches, that's what sets me apart from big businesses," she said. The soapmaking process starts with three different oils, she said, and she works to ensure her oils have no pthalates or car - cinogens. They're mixed with vari- able amounts of sodium hydroxide and other liq- uids, then put through a chemical process called sa- ponification. Essential oils are added for fragrance and in some cases exfoliants — including strawberry seeds or coffee grounds — are put into the mix and, roughly 24 hours later, Chiocco has a loaf of soap to work with. The loaves are cut into bars and then wrapped and labeled for sale before they go up on display in the store - front, freshly-cut bars fea- turing names like Incense, Woodstock Tang, Lovely Lady, Ardenia, Cafe Kitchen, Campfire, Aussie Morning, Go Time and Patagonia. Naming, Chiocco said, is one of her favorite parts of the process. She got started a few years ago, she said, after ordering some soaps for what she intended to be a home organics store. Her husband, Carl, suggested she make some herself. After one batch that everyone she shared with seemed to like, Chiocco said she was hooked. Her husband, who was fighting cancer, did not live to see the store open. But Chiocco has carried on with the shop and contin - ued to provide her hand- made soap to the people of Bella Vista. "It's fun and I love it," she said. "And I want people to have beautiful, healthy skin." Birdscaping by The Bluebird Shed Lynn Atkins latkins@nwadg.com Lynn Atkins/The Weekly Vista Butch Tetzlaff, owner of The Bluebird Shed, is ready with advice as well as products for "birdscaping." The busi- ness is on Lancashire Boulevard in Bella Vista.

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